Saturday, November 28, 2009

Statement of Purpose

Here is what I wrote more than 2 years ago hoping to apply for a Masters program in Education. Eventually, though, I never used this for anything. Took the well tread route. Applied for a Masters program in Computer Science and that is what I'm doing now.

But this is still close to my heart, something that I want to do. Someday, I will. Probably.

Education
I dream that there will be a day when every child is given equal opportunity regardless of gender, financial status and parentage. I want to engineer a bright tomorrow for every child for whom a tomorrow is a very bleak prospect. A tomorrow which will see every child blossoming into the best that he or she could ever be. With nothing discriminating them from the rest. Without anything to hinder them from realizing their beautiful dreams.

The disparity that is existent in today's world is shocking. A case in point is a personal example. Our domestic helpers son is 22 years old. He has passed his 9th standard and works as a peon in a private company. He earns Rs.1500 a month and is expecting to get a raise of Rs.500 by end of this year.

I am 22 years old. I have completed my B.E degree and I am being paid more per month than what he would earn in twelve.

He was born there, and I here. I can't see, how much ever I try, any causal difference other than this.

Why then, this disparity? For no fault of his and for no faultlessness of mine?

The school that I went to was chosen from a list of the best that were available. I had amazing teachers and was given excellent facilities which would make any child want to learn more. This is what every child should get. But doesn't. And that's where the other differences start.

A child's future is secured in the first years of schooling. And currently we are living in a world where a very shocking reality is silently ignored by the wealthy few and tolerated without complaint by the masses. The people who desperately need improvement in their lives, are the ones who are denied the only legal entry point to a decent living. Quality Education. The only way through which people can be freed from the misery of poverty, never ending debts and harassment.

What differentiates the children of the poor and the rich, is the quality of every kind of input that they receive as children. The inputs that they receive in school and at home. Financially stable, well educated parents know that confidence is the key to success. They try to find as early as possible what their child is good at and provide every possible opportunity for the child to realize that s/he is very adept at some things. The child is sent to one of the best schools and there the child is guardedly allowed to explore possibilities. Encouraged and educated, s/he gradually gains confidence and is able to do wondrous things by the time s/he matures into an adult. An adult who is capable of leading a happy, meaningful life. On the other hand, uneducated, financially unstable parents are required to spend more time worrying about current realities than a distant future. Their children just manage to go to school. The schools that they go to fail to make a difference to them. And here they do not learn about the existence of many other beautiful things that life would otherwise offer them. They grow up thinking that they are capable of nothing because nothing that they have done so far has either been appreciated nor been encouraged. A meaningless, unhappy existence awaits the emerging adult.

Children from poorer backgrounds have to be shown that they can DO things and do them well. They lack the confidence that their richer counterparts easily get. By instilling confidence and skills in them, they need to be empowered. This has to be done by exposing them to various opportunities, helping them identify their strengths and weaknesses, building on their talents while working on their problem areas, so that eventually, they grow into well rounded, capable and confident adults. A personal relationship with every child with the intent to provide enough encouragement and necessary early corrective action is what every education system must seek to achieve.

I wish to make myself capable of spearheading the much needed revolution in education. The current system has failed a large number of people. Education which must enlighten, enthuse and energize every child is mostly an ordeal which dulls a needy child, suppresses its imagination and scares it away. Less than half the children who start their formal education complete the mandatory 8 years in school. This HAS to be changed. And soon.

For this I require the knowledge about the different systems of education that are existent around the globe and know the intricacies of each. I need the detailed knowledge about what aspects of life shape a child's mind. About educational policies and how it shapes posterity. About what precisely are the faults in the current system that need to be addressed. About how to make quality education possible for each child.

I wish to be a part of a renowned educational institute where I can get to see what really makes quality in education. I wish to make solid, achievable plans to reach an equitable and therefore more stable tomorrow. To be able to conceptualise and make a reality a world where quality education makes every child's childhood.

My dream is a happy tomorrow. For everyone. The path to realizing it will be tough. It may indeed be unattainable in a single lifetime. But I don't want to die regretting that I too, never made a difference, when I could have

4 comments:

some of the lines in u r SOP r killer lines..:) But to be honest education these days is more of a business than a duty. As an example I would say this: I did my masters at Kentucky...And during my last year there we were informed in blunt words that the university is running out of funds and so scholarships yada yada wud slowly be cancelled...And a couple of months later the university brings in a reputed Basket ball coach(supposedly the best in business)on 32 million dollar contract. :) So as a neutral I would be scared that if someone who intends good while beginning a Masters of education program would not at the end of it change in to a money making educating monster...:D No offense meant to your statement though...

Sports is an important component of education! As far as I know, people here join schools dreaming about becoming professional players. And also doesn't that totally depend on how budget is allocated to various departments? I don't know ground reality in your school, but this is my space to think out loud :) AND I've looked at courses in Educational Psychology and don't think they are evil inducing!! Though people do change over time and that is reality in any field!

Awesome post.. You have all my support for creating such a world.. Infact, I first want to finish my loans and other stuff and seriously start working towards this.. Let us hope to make it a better tomorrow for everybody.. :)